Shanghai stocks edge up on SOE reforms

Shanghai shares made small gains on Friday as market sentiment was boosted by faster progress in state-owned enterprise reform.

The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.28 percent to close at 3,348.94 points. Over the week, the index lost 0.11 percent.

Shares of telecommunications, consumer and infrastructure companies were among the biggest gainers on Friday. The telecommunications sector rose 1.29 percent, according to the data from Wind Information, a financial information provider.

Investors turned optimistic after Xiao Yaqing, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said that “the framework for China’s state-owned enterprises is basically complete.”

“In the coming five years, the government will focus more on boosting competitiveness and  increasing quality of management of state-owned enterprises,” Xiao said, Reuters reported.

State-owned enterprises showed strong growth in revenue and profits in the first eight months of this year. Total revenue of state-owned enterprises rose 15.7 percent and profits increased 17.3 percent year-on-year.

“Since the second half of this year, the government has continuously increased efforts to promote the reform of state-owned enterprises,” Guosen Securities said in a report.

“The state-owned enterprise reform will lift the business performance of the companies.”

Wuhan Yangtze Communication Industry Group Co Ltd surged 9.94 percent to 30.20 yuan (US$4.54), Eastern Communications Co Ltd jumped 6.51 percent to 8.02 yuan and Fu Jian Anjoy Foods Co Ltd added 7.68 percent to 25.79 yuan.